US imposes new sanctions on Iran’s oil sector

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The Trump administration imposed fresh sanctions on Iran’s oil sector Monday, also making it more difficult for a subsequent administration to reverse the measures, the Times of Israel reports. Affecting the National Iranian Oil Company, Iran’s oil ministry, and the National Iranian Tanker Company, the new measures were taken under counterterrorism authority, such that a new administration would have to take legal action to change course.

In imposing the new sanctions, the Treasury Department connected three entities to the Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds Force, whose commander, Qassem Soleimani, was killed in a US attack in January, the Times of Israel said.

“The Iranian regime continues to prioritize its support for terrorist entities and its nuclear program over the needs of the Iranian people,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

The Treasury Department says an organization supported by the Quds Force shipped over 12 tankers of oil in spring 2019. Most of this oil was reportedly delivered to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Iran, the Times of Israel reports.

Sanctions were also placed on UK-based Iranian businessman Mahmoud Madanipour, who the US accuses of shipping tens of thousands of metric tons of gasoline to Venezuela: the Trump administration has been committed to ousting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the Times of Israel reports.

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